Radiation = burning heat

Have you ever seen pictures of radiation burns? If you haven't, do not search for it. I saw some accidentally on a doctor-approved website, and it was scary to think that they represented my very-near future.

As I type, I'm sitting in the living room wearing a gown with no bra, with a folded washcloth under my right breast that was ice cold about 2 minutes ago. The heat on that side is about as bad as bad sunburns I've had. And I'm only 1/3 of the way through treatments.

Are you scared? 'Cause I am!

I have special deodorant and prescription cream to use, but they can only do so much.

I mean, it's inherent in the word "radiation."

The definition of radiation is that it is the transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through a material medium.

The energy in this case is x-ray beams and the medium is my right breast and armpit.

Here's a science graphic. See radiation? Heat being applied to hands. In my case, heat being applied to boobs!

The way the radiation works is that at high doses, radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth by damaging their DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body. 

So they're basically burning the cancer cells to death, which in turn, burns my skin ... not to death, but it certainly feels that way.

It's hard to figure out because they want me not to wear a bra (the bands are rough on that skin). But because my breasts are large, I must wear a bra for support. And they don't want the skin under my breast to be in contact with the skin on the bottom of my breast. If you have large breasts, how the heck can that happen?!

Answer is, it can't. So I'm just gonna have to do what I can do.

And did I mention the swelling? It doesn't feel great to type because my upper arms squish my breast. And the pressure hurts.

I know this too shall pass, but it'll be a while. They say it can take up to a year or so for the skin to get back to its usual color. And sometimes it never goes back. The same for the swelling and soreness.

Since it's out of my hands, I'm going to just keep plowing through, using my products and hoping for the best.